REVIEW – Stepbrother Inked by Violet Blaze

How could the one person I can’t have be the only person I truly need?

Florian Harper Riley has my heart and he doesn’t even know it. I used to think that was okay, that I’d get over him, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t purge his sharp green gaze from my thoughts.

He’s a tattoo artist, the love of my life, the man of my dreams.
But he’s also my stepbrother.

Fate can be wicked cruel.

Stepbrother Inked is a new adult stepsibling romance that features the inked, bad boy Florian and his sheltered, starry-eyed stepsister Abi. This book tends to lean more on the taboo side than some of the other stepsibling romances I’ve read, so be prepared to navigate the tricky waters of long held forbidden feelings and forced family time. There were definitely pieces of Florian and Abi’s relationship that tugged at my heart. While Abi’s obsession with Florian was obvious, Florian surprised me with his unexpected attentiveness. Plus I’ll admit, any badass tattooed BBF who takes care of kittens is a win in my book.

“I feel like there’s a knife lodged in my chest and every day that I see you, that I can’t touch you, somebody turns it a full rotation. I’m bleeding from the inside out, Abi.”

While some readers may absolutely love the totally taboo nature of this story, it walked the line of forbidden and wrong too closely for me. There are aspects of a stepsibling couple’s history and their family ties (they met as adults before they knew about their parents, didn’t grow up together, etc.) that ensure the forbidden nature of the relationship doesn’t feel creepy. Unfortunately, there were moments in this book where everything just felt wrong. Also, Florian and Abi both had outside relationships, making their situation that much more uncomfortable for me. If you’re someone who doesn’t take issue with this particular set-up then chances are you will really enjoy this story as it is.

“If love had no hardships, if it was easy, then it wouldn’t be worth so much.”

One of the reasons I took a chance on Stepbrother Inked was that I’ve read novels under the author’s other pen name and really enjoyed her voice and writing style. I’m happy to say she did not disappoint in that regard. The book was well written, colorful, and descriptive and the voice felt relaxed and youthful. Violet Blaze easily captures the age and emotions of her characters, portraying their story in a way that came across as genuine. My favorite part of the story was probably the secondary characters. Abi’s friends really stole the show, their humor and honesty giving Stepbrother Inked life and levity. Overall, this novel was entertaining and although it was just okay for me, fans of stepsibling and forbidden romance will probably really enjoy it.